20 February 2012 10:04 PM

Haye, Chisora and the sad demise of British boxing

It is hard to know what is sadder about British boxers Dereck Chisora and David Haye’s playground brawl following her former’s defeat to Vitali Klitschko in Germany on Saturday.

Sad that two grown men were reduced to squabbling like children in front of the world's media over nothing more than some pathetic catcalling. Sad that Chisora’s exploits in the ring were immediately forgotten, in which he defied expectation by taking the Ukrainian champion to 12 rounds.

But sadder still was that whilst the boxing community was washing their hands of the two heavyweights, much of the rest of the UK was asking: ‘Who are these baffoons?’

As I am aware, David Haye seems mostly remembered for tastefully predicting his fight with former Olympic gold medalist Audley Harrison last year would be ‘as one-sided as a gang-rape.’ I must confess the only thing I knew about Chisora, prior to Saturday, was that he was fortunate to escape jail for assaulting his girlfriend. Doubtful either of these two gladiators will be joining a bridge circle anytime soon.

But the truth is that British boxing is a fringe sport these days. Its practitioners struggle to make much of an impact through a combination of their own wild mediocrity and public indifference.

Pay for view television hasn’t helped their cause, nor the scheduling of bouts during the small hours making them accessible only to all night revelers and lonely insomniacs.

It’s shame, as this probably robbed one truly excellent British middleweight in Joe Calzaghe – undefeated in 46 fights – from ever truly getting the recognition he deserved. A generation just never saw him fight.

It’s all seems a long time since the mid-nineties, when Britain was blessed with a plethora of talented middleweights in Chris Eubank, Michael Watson, Steve Collins and Nigel Benn who became household names. Their bouts on ITV’s Big Fight Live was must-see entertainment.

My earliest memory of televised boxing was being allowed to watch the opening rounds of Barry McGuigan’s World title fight at Loftus Road in 1985. Whilst I can’t recall much about the fight itself, I will always remember the sheer pandemonium inside the crowd, all 25,000 of them chanting ‘Hear We Go’ as the Irishman made his way in to the ring. It was a national event.

Frank Bruno’s fights were always eagerly anticipated Although hardly the most talented of heavyweights, like McGuigan, he fought with his heart. The pair of them had class, and when they lost we shared their disappointment as much as they did.

I am not quite sure the same can be said of these two brawling berks in Munich on Saturday.

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